Vacuum sweeper drive belt

In combination,

• a) a vacuum sweeper having a power drive shaft and a brush roll;
• b) an endless elastomeric power drive belt around the power drive shaft and the brush roll for continuous operation when the sweeper is in use;
• c) the belt including a drive surface including a plurality of traction ribs, said ribs having converging tapered portions which define cutting traction edges to expel forcing matter lodged between the drive surface and the power drive shaft and between the drive surface and the brush roll;
• and,
• d) said ribs defining boundaries of particle recesses which function to provide the temporary collection of foreign matter.

A vacuum cleaner comprising:

• a) a housing;
• b) a brush roll journalled in the housing for rotation when in use about an axis generally paralleling a surface to be cleaned;
• c) a driven element journalled in the housing for rotation about an element axis;
• d) an endless brush drive belt stretched around the brush roll and the driven element;
• e) the belt having an inner drive surface including inwardly projecting portions and recesses delineated by the projecting portions;
• and,
• f) the projecting portions including engagement surfaces providing belt to brush roll and belt to driven element frictional engagement while surfaces of the recesses remain in spaced relationship with the brush roll and driven element whereby rotational forces are transmitted from the driven element to the brush roll via the engagement surfaces and dirt is displaced into the recesses by the action of the engagement surface.

A process in inhibiting the development of foreign matter film on a vacuum cleaner brush roll, a brush belt and a drive member comprising:

• a) tensioning the belt around the roll and member to establish surface contact between inwardly extending projections on the belt and the roll and member respectively;
• b) rotating the member to thereby drive the belt and the roll and thereby cease the projections to disperse forcing matter into belt recesses interspersed among the projections;
• and,
• c) flexing the belt as it passes through a flow of air from a cleaner inlet to a filter whereby to cause foreign matter in such recesses to be transferred to such filter.